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WM/Treks/Log 3-3
Narrator: The delvers are two days out of Polisberg, standing amid the once haunted ruins of a lakeside town. A constant, low level rain obscures the sky and makes everything wet. Artegal: Tactics: 3d6.skill(13,0) => 3,4,2 = 9 vs (13) or less Success! by 4 Beltarne: ((Wierd, rain making things wet)) GM: The narrator's prose is purple, but not always really well written. Wolfgang: ((It's the WM, we'll see rain that makes things dry soon I bet)) GM: ooh, neat idea. GM: What are you guys doing? Artegal: Continuing to hunt for treasure, I believe! Beltarne: Searching moar! GM: oh, you're 3 days out, not 2. Wolfgang: looting the town! GM: Okay, searchers are at +1 for Artegal's leadership and co-ordination ("no, that house over there, we've been there already!") and can get bonuses for various things, mostly Forced Entry or relevant thiefly skills. Ystava: Loot loot loot the ruined strucutres! Oh wait, not playing a bard. Artegal: We've had four rolls so far, which gives us four more checks before they start taking longer. Wolfgang: I think we only had two rounds Ystava: I believe I was doing something with Forced Entry and or scent based Observation from default. Beltarne: ((Right. +2 for shovels for each searcher, +1 for Ystava's nose for her, and +1 for me if Wolfgang successfully uses forced entry)) GM: I think Ystava was using Search. Ystava: right, scent based Search. That makes more sense. GM: You have 4 more attempts, but you're doing 2 attempts at a go. Ystava: OK, so I have a crowbar and a shovel and a leadership bonus? Ystava: I seem to recall I was having trouble with basic math last week :D GM: Right, but you only get a bonus for the shovel or the crowbar, though others can use the crowbar for a Forced Entry bonus. Ystava: So one of those tools gave me a +2, then +1 from Artie stopping me from doing something really stupid... Is that it? I think that's it. Beltarne: So, Ystava, +4 (leadership, shovel, nose) Wolfgang: I just have a crowbar, is that +1 or +2 to FE? Ystava: Aha! Noses! Beltarne: Me +4 (shovel, leadership, wolfgang) if wolfgang makes his Forced entry +1 (Crowbar) roll. Beltarne: Right? GM: Right, Beltarne. Wolfgang, crowbar is +1 for Forced Entry. Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 2,5,6 = 13 vs (15) or less Success! by 2 Beltarne: YAY Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,4) => 1,2,3 = 6 vs (17) or less Critical Success! by 11 B556 Ystava: Woo! Wolfgang: WoooHooooo! Beltarne: Oh yeah, wasn't in another +1 for taking longer per roll? Beltarne: I thought Artegal: I don't think we were taking longer. Beltarne: Okay Ystava: It was an option but we didn't take it. Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 3,3,5 = 11 vs (12) or less Success! by 1 Ystava: "I found... the thing!" ** Ystava looks at Beltarne. ** Ystava: "Your the thing is more shiny." whispering to Beltarne, You find a pair of iron armor bracers. They're etched - you think the etchings may be magical runes. ** Beltarne is pulling handfuls of diamonds from a rotting wooden chest.... ** GM: Beltarne finds a pair of iron armor bracers (arm armor). Ystava finds a small bottle of emerald paint. Beltarne: "That's nice dear." Artegal: Are the bracers a holy artifact? >.> GM: Emerald paint, by the way, is made with real emeralds. GM: Artegal: no. GM: No one has Magery, right? ** Ystava sniffs at the paint, and wrinkles his nose. "Uhg, the stinky oil." ** Ystava: (( don't all fae have it? )) Artegal: ((Nope! That's elves.)) Ystava: (( You suck :D )) Beltarne: I was planing on casting detect magic after we had finished looting. Artegal: 'During'. Artegal: "Oh, that's a worthless piece of iron rod." GM: And no one has Thaumaturgy, either. Ystava: (( the last draft of Ystava did, god help you all. )) GM: Okay, well. GM: The bracers are worth $800 for their partial ornamentation, weigh 9.5 lbs and give DR6. The paint weighs 2 oz and is worth $11/oz. GM: ... GM: Hello? Artegal: Hey, money! Wolfgang: man, those are heavy bracers Ystava: And Beltarne will cast Detect magic on them alter :D Ystava: *later Artegal: We get two more tries at this before we run into 'it takes longer'. Back to searching? Ystava: DR 6, nice. For SM 0 of course ;) GM: Sadly, yes. Wolfgang: sure Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 1,5,6 = 12 vs (12) or less Success! by 0 Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 6,1,1 = 8 vs (15) or less Success! by 7 Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,+4) => 1,5,3 = 9 vs (17) or less Success! by 8 Ystava: ... Ystava: I'mmma luck mine. Ystava: I'm feeling inadequate Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 3,1,1 = 5 vs (12) or less Success! by 7 Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 5,2,3 = 10 vs (12) or less Success! by 2 Ystava: Ok. Better now :D Beltarne: Nicely done Ystava: You and your high skill levels. Ystava: I'll show you! Dumb luck... is still not as good ;) GM: Ystava finds a chest, full of partially tanned goat hide ($3/lb, several hundred lbs of it) and a small bag of spice (pungent, fiery hot, heavy barnyard notes) at the bottom under the fur. Beltarne finds a strange contraption - looks like some kind of bellows, something like the fire sprayer but not as complex. Ystava: "Phwah!" ** Ystava carefully removes the dangerous hot stuff and sets it aside so it doesn't spill out and make him miserable, and then admires the nice skins, feeling very proud of himself. ** Artegal: I don't really have a Connoiseur specialty that covers spices. Artegal: I knew I should have just taken the bang skill. GM: Ystava also finds a bunch of 3-5" thorns of some hard, plant-like material. He doesn't like how they smell. They're embedded in the ground near a house, but the ground is very churned up around them. whispering to Artegal, Possibly Orcish Firegrain, a mild stimulant Ystava: Hmm. Artegal: "I think the spices are Orcish Firegrain. It's a mild stimulant. I'm not sure if selling it is legal." whispering to Ystava, You have heard that manticores throw spikes like these from their tails. ** Ystava pokes at the spikes. "I found the thing. It's... ummm... I dunno. Artie? What's the thing?" ** GM: Beltarne and Ystava have whispers. ** Ystava reads the whisper! ** Artegal: "The thorns? I don't know. Mysterious. This is the Westmarch, so mysterious probably means dangerous." GM: The thorns are fresh. ** Wolfgang looks at the thorns and sees if they look like they came from any of the plant monsters we've fought ** GM: Wolfgang doens't think so. Ystava: "The man-ti-ger?" He pronounces it very carefully, syllable by syllable. " I hear the guy at the bar, he say the man-ti-ger gots the spikes and flings them. Like the porcupine, but the bigger." Artegal: "Manticore? That's not so good." Ystava: "And then he said the rude thing, and I hit him with the mug." GM: Oh, and the chest the furs and spice were in costs $40 and weighs 20 lbs. GM: Time has passed since you arrived in the ruins, mostly with the searching. What are you doing now (aside from getting rained on) Ystava: (( I've got Mark doing it :D )) Beltarne: ((I was planning on searching another 8 times (4 each) and calling it good)) Artegal: What's our total haul so far? Wolfgang: what time is it? GM: You're not really sure about the time. Can't see the sun, you're not too hungry though. Wolfgang: clearly we can search more then GM: Total haul is... I don't know, what are you taking with you? Beltarne: Clearly Artegal: Assume 'all of it'. Ystava: We'll worry about that :D Wolfgang: We'll pile it someplace dry Ystava: Worth going another round. How much spices? Like, ounces or pounds? :D GM: Around $5000 in value and close to 400 lbs, I think. Wolfgang: I think the goat skins may not be worth it GM: 2.5 ounces. Wolfgang: depends what other stuff we find though Ystava: If we don't find anything else, might as well take them back too. we've got two horses. Artegal: Pretty much. GM: 2.5 ounces of spice, worth roughly $150/ounce. Wolfgang: last town we had tables and stuff too, you never know GM: It's not illegal, by the way. Just rare. Artegal: Back to searching? Beltarne: BRB, doorbell Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 2,4,1 = 7 vs (15) or less Success! by 8 GM: Skill rolls for others? Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,4) => 2,5,3 = 10 vs (17) or less Success! by 7 Beltarne: ((Sorry, guy needed to borrow a tire iron)) Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 6,2,1 = 9 vs (12) or less Success! by 3 GM: Beltarne finds a medium-sized book, with a cover of red leather and black and red beads along the edges. He can't quite make out the title, as the letters writhe and shift like smoke. Ystava finds a small silver ring, probably worth $75. GM: Does Artegal have a relevant skill to identify the book? ** Ystava admires the ring. Earring, finger ring? Nose ring? ** Ystava: (( art? It's a decorated book... )) GM: Finger ring for most people, Ystava. GM: It's a heavy silver ring, with a thing band of gold going from one edge to the other. Artegal: "We clearly need a mage." Wolfgang: "I didn't notice any around town that wanted to come out here..." Wolfgang: we at the "takes longer" rounds of searching now? Ystava: Yep, I think so. GM: Yes, yes you are. Beltarne: Shall wolfgang make three more FE rolls, then I make three search rolls with appropriate modifiers? I don't feel a need to do this one at a time unless that's easier for you, Mark ** Wolfgang consults his stomach clock ** GM: That's fine by me, Nate. Ystava: That's our 8 rolls though - we taking some with the time penalty? Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 4,6,6 = 16 vs (15) or less Failure! by 1 Wolfgang: luck! Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 6,6,5 = 17 vs (15) or less Critical Failure! by 2 B556 Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 4,1,6 = 11 vs (15) or less Success! by 4 Ystava: Get those out of your system :D Wolfgang: wow ** Wolfgang hides ** GM: You're taking 30 minutes each for this set of rolls. Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 4,2,2 = 8 vs (15) or less Success! by 7 Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 5,3,2 = 10 vs (15) or less Success! by 5 Wolfgang: ok, there's my three Ystava: K, Beltarne's 3 search, then Ystava's? GM: Right. Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,4) => 6,2,1 = 9 vs (17) or less Success! by 8 Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,4) => 5,5,1 = 11 vs (17) or less Success! by 6 Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,4) => 6,6,2 = 14 vs (17) or less Success! by 3 Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 5,1,4 = 10 vs (12) or less Success! by 2 Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 1,6,1 = 8 vs (12) or less Success! by 4 Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 1,4,4 = 9 vs (12) or less Success! by 3 GM: Beltarne finds a small book, written in trade tongue, called "the art of Following". It's a basic primer on the Shadowing skill ($25/3 lbs), a spy horn made of fine wood ($400/2 lbs), and a mostly intact statue (weighs arough 50 lbs). Ystava finds a pile of unrefined iron, probably iron ($50/50 lbs), a finely made light shield ($100/1.5 lbs), and a fine (edge) dagger ($80/0.25 lbs). GM: err... unrefined ore, probably iron. GM: That makes slightly more sense. Wolfgang: it could be iron chunks right after the "get it out of the ore" stage Artegal: I think that unless the ore burns me (I have a vulnerability to meteoric iron), it's probably not worth taking. Wolfgang: since you need to refine it a fair bit after unless you get REALLY lucky GM: no, i mean "unrefined iron, probably iron" doesn't make as much sense as "unrefined ore, probably iron" Wolfgang: ah GM: Wolfgang's hunger clock says it is nearly time to find a campsite and rest for the night. Wolfgang: Still, less valuable per pound than the goat skins Ystava: Toldja to keep the goat skins. Mmm. Fuzzy. ** Wolfgang looks for a building with an intact roof ** ** Beltarne casts Detect Magic on the arm armor and statue ** GM: If you want to sleep in the town possibly full of the souls of those murdered by demons, there are an adequate number of roofs. GM: Roll it, Beltarne. Beltarne: Detect Magic (Holy) (16) 3d6.skill(16,1) => 1,4,4 = 9 vs (17) or less Success! by 8 Includes: +4 from 'Power Investiture (Holy)' Beltarne: Detect Magic (Holy) (16) 3d6.skill(16,1) => 1,3,1 = 5 vs (17) or less Critical Success! by 12 B556 Includes: +4 from 'Power Investiture (Holy)' GM: Casting it twice? Beltarne: Once on each Artegal: Detect Magic is 'per subject'. Beltarne: Firtst tells you magical y/n Artegal: Mage Sight is 'what's magical that I can see?' GM: Ah, okay. GM: Sorry, was confused. GM: The statue is not magical, though you feel something else amongst your loot is. Beltarne: Oh hey, and critical identifies item as for analyze magic. GM: The bracers are magcial. Beltarne: So statue is very definitely not magical, hooray! Beltarne: Okay. Wolfgang: ((maybe the book or ring?)) Artegal: Something else other than the bracers? ** Beltarne eyes statue skeptically "Anyone have any idea if this is worth carting out? ** Artegal: The book with the writing that keeps shifting so it's unreadable? Artegal: Nah, that couldn't possibly be magical. GM: Yes, something other than the bracers. Beltarne: All in favor of leaving iron? ** Ystava is confounded by the mystery of the missing magic item. If it's not the el-creapo book, what could it possibly be? ** ** Ystava is not enthusiastic about dragging it back. How are the horses? ** Wolfgang: "Leave it for now, see what we find tomorrow" GM: They're... horses? Beltarne: "Okay, gather everything except the iron up and we'll camp outside for the night." Beltarne: "A long day of plundering leaves a dwarf with a powerful thirst!" Ystava: How are the horses encumberance levels, smarty pants. GM: Before you start loading them down with stuff, they can each carry about 40 more lbs without slowing at all, or 160 lbs while slowing down a bit. (ie, going from ~200 lbs each to 350 lbs each). Beltarne: ((It was first 8 searches 15 min, second 8 half an hour, and then an hour after that, right?)) GM: Right, Beltarne. Beltarne: By my count we have all of 120 pounds of stuff. Ystava: Including the iron? Ystava: If that is, then I say take it with us and drop it later if we find something more interesting. Wolfgang: I think we have more in goat skins than that Artegal: Leaving the iron behind seems like the sensible course. GM: Probably not including the iron or the goat skins (300 lbs!) Beltarne: Erm, yes, but I'm missing a few things Artegal: 300 lbs of goat skins is still $900. Ystava: Right, he DC/d Ystava: And they're fuzzy! Ystava: They make great hats. Beltarne: Okay, vast majority of the weight is goat skins. Beltarne: How much are they worth? Beltarne: Thanks mark, saw it in Maptools Wolfgang: $3/lb GM: Can Artegal estimate the value of the statue? Ystava: Sounds like Art to me. Artegal: It's a Visual Art! Artegal: Ish. GM: And what are people's armory specialties? I'll accept Visual Art, Artegal, what's the skill level? Artegal: Skill-9 and I'm Lucky. Artegal: Armory (Weapons)-13 and (Body Armor)-13. Connoiseur (Weapons)-10 and (Body Armor)-9. Wolfgang: I'm armory body armor GM: Then you don't think much of the sculptor and appraise the statue at $75. Wolfgang: 13 skill as well GM: The bellows thing is a sprayer (DF8 p26 I think?) for $80/4 lbs. GM: Yeah, I already got Wolfgang for the bracer. GM: Camping out for the night? Artegal: Camping out for the night. Ystava: Sorry, just noticed the question. Armory weapons/connoiseur weapons but I suck :D Ystava: 'And camping out for the night. Narrator: The night passes uneventful under a constant drizzle. Shortly before dawn, the rain dies down to a misting and the winds push away the clouds some time after that. As dawn breaks, you see the sun for the first time in 4 days. Wolfgang: Sure, we shall camp since apparently staying in the formerly haunted place at night might be bad GM: Possibly. Torvall: "Is there anything we can do to help the town 'rest easier'?" GM: Maybe the ghost of coinage lost still haunts the place! You didn't want to risk it, anyway. GM: Hmmm. Beltarne: "Alright, I say we dedicate another 4 hours to making sure we didn't miss anything, and then head to the fae forrest." GM: What's your Theology, Torvall? Torvall: only a 10 Beltarne: 12 here Artegal: "See? Bad weather always passes." He examines the statue critically in the dawn light. "You know, this sculptor really was rather terrible." Wolfgang: "Aye, more searching for sure" GM: Nothing springs to mind, Torvall. Wolfgang: "Yah, but was he famous?" GM: Best make of lawn gnomes in this particular town maybe? Wolfgang: "Or is there a secret compartment in it?" Torvall: ((People thought Van Gogh was horrible in his time...)) ** Wolfgang looks at the bottom of the statue ** GM: You see baked clay. GM: okay, 4 sets of rolls, let's run with this. Artegal: Leadership: 3d6.skill(20,0) => 3,1,5 = 9 vs (20) or less Success! by 11 Beltarne: Wolfgang, hit it! Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 4,4,6 = 14 vs (15) or less Success! by 1 Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 6,6,4 = 16 vs (15) or less Failure! by 1 Wolfgang: hmm, luck up again? Ystava: (( Yes, but people think many actually horrible people were horrible in their time too. And afterwards. )) Wolfgang: darn Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 5,4,3 = 12 vs (15) or less Success! by 3 Wolfgang: Forced Entry (14) 3d6.skill(14,+1) => 3,5,6 = 14 vs (15) or less Success! by 1 GM: Not quite, Wolfgang. Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,4) => 2,6,3 = 11 vs (17) or less Success! by 6 Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,3) => 6,1,6 = 13 vs (16) or less Success! by 3 Wolfgang: yah, oh well Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,4) => 5,5,4 = 14 vs (17) or less Success! by 3 Beltarne: Search (13) 3d6.skill(13,4) => 6,2,3 = 11 vs (17) or less Success! by 6 Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 6,3,2 = 11 vs (12) or less Success! by 1 Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 4,6,4 = 14 vs (12) or less Failure! by 2 Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 4,3,6 = 13 vs (12) or less Failure! by 1 Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 4,4,5 = 13 vs (12) or less Failure! by 1 Ystava: Mmm, I think MY luck is up however. Ystava: Lucking the second one, because it's the first that failed! Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 2,1,4 = 7 vs (12) or less Success! by 5 GM: Also, people who are searching need to make either an Architecture roll or a Perception based Traps roll. No modifiers apply. Ystava: Search (from PER-5 default) 3d6.skill(13,-5+2+1+1) => 6,2,4 = 12 vs (12) or less Success! by 0 Ystava: I presume Scent is no help here. How about hearing? Torvall: Perception: 3d6.skill(12) => 4,1,6 = 11 vs (12) or less Success! by 1 GM: Not a help, Ystava. Torvall, you don't need to roll. Torvall: That is reg perception...no mods Beltarne: IQ (14) 3d6.skill(14,-5) => 4,3,6 = 13 vs (9) or less Failure! by 4 Torvall: Oh oops misread your bit Ystava: Per (13) 3d6.skill(13,-5) => 5,6,4 = 15 vs (8) or less Failure! by 7 Beltarne: Luck! Torvall: thot it said not searching Beltarne: IQ (14) 3d6.skill(14,-5) => 3,3,4 = 10 vs (9) or less Failure! by 1 Beltarne: IQ (14) 3d6.skill(14,-5) => 3,6,6 = 15 vs (9) or less Failure! by 6 ** Ystava finds the trap by stepping on it! ** Beltarne: Well crap Wolfgang: FE helping count? GM: No, Wolfgang. Beltarne: ((My first use of my newly purchased luck is less than inspiring ;-D )) GM: Wolfgang? Wolfgang: ? GM: Oh, sorry. I see the confusion. Artegal: Wolfgang is searching, and needs to avoid a trap. >.> GM: You don't get a bonus for FE helping, but you are searching and need to avoid the trap. Sorry. Wolfgang: oh, I thought FE didn't count GM: I wasn't sure what you were asking =) Wolfgang: Vision (13) 3d6.skill(13,0) => 6,2,5 = 13 vs (13) or less Success! by 0 GM: Vision isn't a Perception based Traps roll, actually. GM: So. Wolfgang: no, but it's what I used to find them! Wolfgang: so that -5 Wolfgang: and I fail Narrator: Ystava and Wolfgang enter a long hall through different doors, Beltarne following behind. Suddenly, the ancient and well-rotten floor gives way as the beams disintegrate under the two warriors' weights. Ystava: I'm not fat, I'm big boned. GM: Wolfgang and Ystava can make DX-7 rolls to jump to safety. Beltarne needs to make a DX-2 roll. Beltarne: DX (12) 3d6.skill(12,-2) => 2,2,2 = 6 vs (10) or less Success! by 4 Beltarne: ((Ninja, baby!)) Wolfgang: DX (14) 3d6.skill(14,-7) => 4,1,6 = 11 vs (7) or less Failure! by 4 Ystava: DX (13) 3d6.skill(13,-7) => 2,4,5 = 11 vs (6) or less Failure! by 5 Ystava: Shame I got lucky on searching. Ystava: And down I go! Narrator: As the floor caves in, tensions relaces on the walls. The overhead beams flex, shake, and shatter, and bits and pieces of the ceiling begin dropping down. Wolfgang: ((Yah, not awasting luck on a -7)) Narrator: Ystava plummets like a rock through the rotten boards. Narrator: As does Wolfgang. Ystava: "WAUauauauauaaaaugh!" Ystava: >/arnie> Ystava: er but. Narrator: To their joy, the cellar is filled with water. To their horror, the cellar is very deeply filled with water. ** Beltarne scrambles backwards and immediately starts belaying rope down to the stranded compatriots. ** GM: Well, if you do that immediately, you get to Dodge falling debris from the ceiling, too. Ystava: Swimming (13) 3d6.skill(13,-4) => 1,6,5 = 12 vs (9) or less Failure! by 3 Ystava: For twice my encumbrance penalty. GM: Right. ** Artegal hears the yelling and dashes towards the danger, yelling at Torval to bring some rope from the horses he's been watching. ** Wolfgang: how narrow is the cellar? any room for wings? ** Ystava goes glub glub sputter glub. ** GM: Aerobatics roll at -4, Wolfgang - there's lots of stuff in the way, but you might be able to pull it off. Beltarne: How far do I need to go to be out of danger from getting crushed from ceiling debris? Wolfgang: Aerobatics (13) 3d6.skill(13,-4) => 5,2,2 = 9 vs (9) or less Success! by 0 ** Torvall runs to the horses and graps as much rope as he can find quickly and also pulls out the grappling hooks he has stowed in his own backpack. ** GM: You just need to wait a few moments, Beltarne. Wolfgang needs to make 4 dodge rolls at -2, shield DR doesn't apply, as he swoops above the water - and therefore into the falling debris. Ystava: DR? Shield DB? GM: shield DB would make more sense. Wolfgang: hmm, trying to get to the side and something I can climb Beltarne: How big is the debris? Ceiling hangers (4" x 8"-12") just joists (2" x 4")? GM: Some of both - the entire ceiling went. Beltarne: ((Hope that's the right terminology, been a while since my days at the lumber isle of home depot)) Wolfgang: Dodge (10) 3d6.skill(10,-2) => 1,6,1 = 8 vs (8) or less Success! by 0 Wolfgang: Dodge (10) 3d6.skill(10,-2) => 3,6,1 = 10 vs (8) or less Failure! by 2 Wolfgang: Dodge (10) 3d6.skill(10,-2) => 1,4,6 = 11 vs (8) or less Failure! by 3 Wolfgang: Dodge (10) 3d6.skill(10,-2) => 1,4,1 = 6 vs (8) or less Success! by 2 Ystava: I would like to work on my not-drowning skills. Torvall: ((Didn't state this but also running back to the cave-in as quickly as possible lol)) GM: Wolfgang takes 1d6+3 => 3,3 = (6) damage to his 3d6 => 5,3,3 = (11) location and 1d6+5 => 2,5 = (7) damage to his 3d6 => 3,4,6 = (13) location, as some random woods bit pelt him and then a joist clobbers him. Wolfgang: My objective is to get to something solid near the door Ystava: Elevenses again! Ystava: Ow! Ystava: Seriously, sadists put groin on 11. GM: Right, Ystava burns some fatigue for entering the water, is mostly cushioned from falling damage and debris damage by said water, and then needs to swim. Wolfgang: Wolfgang has a lot of protection GM: Another swimming roll, still at -4. Ystava: It's the only reason why every random hit location table ever has groin on 11. Ystava: Swimming (13) 3d6.skill(13,-4) => 5,1,6 = 12 vs (9) or less Failure! by 3 GM: Wolfgang needs to make an Aerobatics roll at -2 to maneuver to the door. Ystava: Down two FP so far. GM: Glub glub! Ystava: From drowning how much did I lose from smashing in? Wolfgang: Aerobatics (13) 3d6.skill(13,-2) => 4,3,3 = 10 vs (11) or less Success! by 1 Ystava: Swimming (13) 3d6.skill(13,-4) => 3,2,2 = 7 vs (9) or less Success! by 2 GM: 1 FP for falling in. Ystava: Ahahaha! Hurray, I can tread water for 5 minutes! ** Ystava sputters, coughs, and sneezez a few times. "AAAUGH." ** Ystava: (( er, sneezes )) Ystava: er, one minute. GM: Do you guys have rope sufficient to lift Ystava? Which requires like 1000 lb test line. Ystava: Not 5 yet. GM: Right, 1 per minute. Beltarne: Do we need to lift her entirely out or just give her something to pull herself up an incline? GM: Huh. Ystava: 's actually only 200 lbs of gear, so 800 lbs ;D Wolfgang: SO much better! GM: If you don't have enough rope, you could try the incline method, but you're risking him stepping onto another weak joist and falling back down again. Beltarne: I triple up my rope, 10 yards, 900 pound support GM: Okay. Artegal: Beltarne is so practical! Beltarne: ((Someone came prepared!)) GM: Climbing roll for Ystava. Wolfgang: can I climb all the way out now? GM: Yes, Wolfgang is pretty much clear now. Beltarne: ((Except when he forgot rations, early on. But we don't talk about that.)) Wolfgang: ah, ok Ystava: DX (13) 3d6.skill(13,-5) => 6,5,2 = 13 vs (8) or less Failure! by 5 Wolfgang: I'll help hold the rope then GM: Another swimming check, Ystava. GM: Another swimming check, Ystava. Ystava: oops Ystava: Swimming (13) 3d6.skill(13,-4) => 6,2,4 = 12 vs (9) or less Failure! by 3 Ystava: 4 FP! Ystava: Swimming (13) 3d6.skill(13,-4) => 2,6,1 = 9 vs (9) or less Success! by 0 Artegal: ((Seriously, no CLIMBING? That's on the 'every delver really needs to have this really' list. LENIA had climbing.)) Ystava: GASP splutter splutter. Ystava: I always take it, I blame a moment of in-character stupidity. Narrator: Ystava grabs the tripple layered rope, starts pulling himself up, and then slips, falling back into the water and disappearing for a few seconds. GM: Another go? Ystava: DX (13) 3d6.skill(13,-5) => 2,2,1 = 5 vs (8) or less Success! by 3 Beltarne: "RIGHT! Everyone grab the rope, loop the end about both bonnie and clyde's saddles, Artegal, on my mark, have them pull him out!" Ystava: Hurray! Wolfgang: "I could hook em with the grapple if it'd help" GM: Sodden, bedraggled, and improbably stinking worse than he did when he first went in, Ystava assists as the horses pull him out of the sunken basement. Narrator: Sodden, bedraggled, and improbably stinking worse than he did when he first went in, Ystava assists as the horses pull him out of the sunken basement. Artegal: ((This is where, if we had a Thief, he'd strip down, dive into the water, hunt for valuables, then nimbly climb out.)) ** Beltarne kneels down next to Ystava, coughing from the stench briefly, and then checks him for wounds.)) ** Ystava: (( no, that's a Scout or Barbarian )) GM: Okay, you guys find some generic stuff. No more weapons, armor, or shields. Just random house hold items and such that I am too lazy to detail. Ystava: (( the thief drowns too :D )) ** Ystava stumbles away from the edge and stands dripping, sneezing, coughing and spluttering. ** ** Ystava wipes snot off of his snout with a hand. ** Beltarne: ((Okay, so we're finished with the town after collecting our loot for the successful search rolls, and we're off to the fae forest? Ystava: "Hdat hhstinks." Beltarne: "It certainly does." Wolfgang: sounds like a plan, wolfgang would be up for mor searching though Artegal: "Look on the bright side! You're alive and healthy, and it's sure to rain in the next few days and give you a bath!" ** Ystava stares at Artegal for a second, and then wipes the snot off on his armor. ** ** Beltarne gags slightly and steps away to check on Wolfgang. ** GM: Item 1: $125, 2 lbs (some kind of jewelry, likely?) Item 2: $70, 50 lbs (another statue?) Item 3: $70, 0.5 lb (well made clothes) Item 4: $200, 1 lb (balanced large knife) Item 5: $24, 3 oz (some spices, again) Item 6: $100, 4 lbs (bunch of bronze candlesticks) ** Wolfgang looks fine, just some scuffs on the armor ** Ystava: Fae forest sounds like a plan. With Ystava snivling and muttering. Ystava: ANd dripping. Ystava: And now he smells like wet, stagnant minotaur. Artegal: "Let's leave that statue behind and take the rest? Something tells me that the demons did the sculptors of Calad Harbor a favor by wiping the town out..." GM: So, heading out? Beltarne: Heading out. Wolfgang: yes Artegal: "Onward!" Ystava: Yas. Beltarne: Leaving iron, both statues, and how much of the goatskins? Artegal: I say we take everything we can carry, even if it slows us down. Town is actually not *that* far away. Ystava: But we can't seem to carry 350 lbs of goat and iron. GM: Sure you can. Beltarne: True, question is whether how much it slows us down is worth the extra random encounters and pays for the rations we eat GM: You'll just kill the horses if you aren't careful. Ystava: Well then. Ystava: Or Ystava. >.> GM: Sure, you guys can carry about 500 lbs more if you load down Ystava fully. Ystava: 800 lbs guys. Stinking and bad tempered ;) Wolfgang: lets not be super slow GM: He'll be basically carrying both statues or something, but you can do it. Artegal: Well, we leave the statues and the iron behind. Artegal: But I'd really rather take the hides. They're pretty valuable by the pound. Ystava: Please! Wolfgang: how slow are we before the goat skins, iron and statue? Ystava: Ystava likes the goatskins :D Beltarne: It costs us $162 a day in rations to be in the field, including feed for Clyde and Bonnie Ystava: And feeding an oversized Ystava? Beltarne: Didn't factor that in GM: Okay, I'm estimating the loot weight at 350 lbs (will figure out more later), split amongst the horses and Ystava, bringing you from a little over 2 mph (nomative) to a lot under. GM: 28.5*6 => 171.0 Ystava: Bleh, crap forgot to forrage last night too. Beltarne: $180 a day GM: About. Artegal: Wait, what does it cost to live in town? Ystava: 150 a week because it's not rations. Ystava: Living in town is cheaper. But boring and you don't earn money. Artegal: Oh, right, not $162/day/person. Never mind. Ystava: yes. Ystava: sorry. GM: Actually, it's $2400 for the 5 of you to live in town for a week before you all start carousing. GM: ($400/week, doubled for Ystava). Ystava: blinka GM: This IS NOT new, folks. Ystava: I think that's still cheaper than adventuring. Saves on wear and tear and consumables. Wolfgang: not really Artegal: I'm just worried we might not have made enough cash to spend a week in town. Ystava: No, that' was just a sort of "doh, I knew that, moment to realign" sort of thing. Wolfgang: just pretend we're in Hawaii Wolfgang: everything costs a lot GM: ... you have a sword that is worth $2400 on its own. Artegal: But we want to /keep/ that. Beltarne: Heh Wolfgang: anyhow, I don't think the statues and iron are worth it at all Torvall: "Who says we have to spend a week in town? Is that how long it will take to sell our wares?" Wolfgang: the goat skins are just to fill out our capacity at whatever level the rest gets us to Beltarne: By my count we have about $7,000 of loot, pre-sale, not counting the statues or iron. Artegal: I mean - and forgive me for the OOC digression here - the point of delving is to go out, find stuff, and come back with enough money to enjoy town for a bit, buy *better stuff than what we had*, and then go out again. Don't take this as a criticism on you, Mark - I'm sure the treasure is *there* - but the party is clearly not doing the right things to find it, and we don't even really seem to know - as players - what the right things /are/. Either we've built a party that's missing critical skills, or we're not asking the right questions, or something. And I can't really figure out what. Ystava: None of us have search trained except Beltarne. Ystava: That's a terrible start. GM: ... people have literally offered you $8000 to do some tasks. Or $4000 to do other tasks. Or $3000 to get them rice. You know where there's a huge encampment of goblins and who knows what other kind of wacky loot. GM: I really do think you can come out well ahead on this one. Ystava: I'm afriad i'm going people ahve what the what and the who now? Beltarne: There's the master key Artegal: THAT is the problem. Artegal: That right there. Beltarne: There's a monastary that needs some sacred rice. GM: It's all on the wiki. Ystava: People haven't offered us anything. Beltarne: Finding it is the beast Ystava: We have a gigantic pool of rumours with nocorrorboration. Artegal: http://westmarchsaga.wikia.com/wiki/WM/Quests GM: and http://westmarchsaga.wikia.com/wiki/WM/Clues and the discussion page for it. Ystava: That's not "people" thats "some dude says some other dude says some dude is going to give someone some money if they do some thing" Wolfgang: rice is not worth it Artegal: $8k to find the key. $2k just for going back and saying we looked. $800 for rice, more if we bring back a hundred pounds of it. Ystava: Presuming we can even find them, and the offer is legit, and is anything like what we heard it was. Artegal: Those are 'quests'. Artegal: Like, 'exclamation mark above the head, please go do this' quests. GM: No, the dwarf key thing is legit - Beltarne talked to the priests. You probably could confirm the others if you asked. GM: Same with the rice thing, I'm pretty sure. Wolfgang: The other stuff is vague, and we really need to have someone with research or a way to use other skills to refine rumors down to more useful info Beltarne: I was gonna pick it up, but only one person can research per week, as I understand. Wolfgang: Their reward would barely pay for our travel I think Wolfgang: anyhow, on to the pixies Beltarne: and we had shelley. Wolfgang: lets go gouge them for wine prices Artegal: Anyway. I'd like to get people a lot more involved in planning the next delve, because this 'scratching a living out of the incredibly dangerous wilderness' thing is kind of frustrating me. Beltarne: On to the pixies! Artegal: On to the pixies. GM: ... guys, the rumors are just a start to the quest. You find more loot on the way. I mean, the entire ghost thing was rumor and nonsense and you still netted *netted* $8000 or so. Ystava: This is true, we still have an open quest for luxury goods for pixies. GM: With Artegal, that would have been like $18000. GM: Right, right. GM: pixies. GM: An hour's walk brings you into the forest. Artegal: I'm a fae noble. And have faerie lore. And Cultural Familiarity. Artegal: If I were a pixie coming home, how would I avoid all the misdirection spells? GM: Huh. Give me a Faerie Lore roll at +3. Artegal: Faerie Lore: 3d6.skill(10,+3) => 3,1,1 = 5 vs (13) or less Success! by 8 Artegal: (I desperately hope 'fly overhead' is not the answer.) Narrator: Artegal gently steers Ystava, turning him left and right periodically. The map clearly shows Baile Mordred as northwest of the town, but Artegal and Ystava head back and forth, occassionally returning the way they've went. Narrator: Just around noon, the delvers arrive in Baile Mordred. ** Beltarne peers around suspiciously, looking for practical jokers. ** Pixie: "What the?" "Hey, stop!" "You're not supposed to go there!" "Hey, it's the ugly stone guy and the dwarf!" "No skeletons this time!" "Hey, did you bring my armor!" ** Ystava massages a broken headache. ** Ystava: er. well you get the point. ** Artegal steps forward and *smiles*. ** Narrator: Wren Seaspray Belladonna streaks forward like a a comet. Beltarne: ((Heh, pixies: "Oooooohhhhhhhhh")) ** Ystava grumpilly mutters some sort of greeting, and then thumps himself on the head a few times until his mental compass is realigned. ** Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "Hello! You guys are back, without that creepy dead lady I see. How did you get past the wards? Don't we have some wards? None of you look like powerful magicians or anything. Did I give you a token to get past the wards or something and if so can I have it back? You guys are likely to get killed out there and that's not something I want lost." ** Torvall gets a bemused expression on his face. He mutters, "Pixies...always so....flighty." ** Wren Seaspray Belladonna: She slaloms between Ystava's horns. "Wow, these are really long. owch! And sharp, too. Hey, if you die, can we have these for our obstacle course?" Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "Wait! Did you bring more wine? We really need more wine!" ** Beltarne uncorks one of his pints of fancy pants wine. ** ** Wolfgang takes a wine bottle out of his pack and hold it up ** Artegal: "We've brought wine, of course we've brought wine. We wouldn't leave you wineless." Wren Seaspray Belladonna: She sniffs. "Yummy!" She lands on Beltarne's arm and starts wrestling away the bottle. "I'll pay for this in a minute I think. Everyone! They brought wine!" Pixie: "Did they bring my armor? I can't be a knight without good dwarven plate!" Ystava: "I not dying! I am the fight and the bigger!" Artegal: Artegal's smile falters a little. "I must say, this isn't quite the welcome I expected." ** Ystava watches the pixie orbiting one horn, with one eye, and then the other horn with the other eye, and then rolls his eyes around for a bit trying to get them pointed forward. ** Ystava: There is more head thumping. ** Beltarne recorks the wine, gently taking it back from Wren. ** Artegal: ((This is ENTIRELY the welcome *I* expected, mind you. Pixies, oy...)) Wren Seaspray Belladonna: She turns toward Artegal. "Oh, hi! Welcome to Baile Mordred, home of the pixies, lah-di-dah-da. Do you want me to do the Dread Empress bit? Only I thought you would have heard it by now. If you give me and Olive some wine, we can do the Vicar and the Maid bit, that goes over well. Hey, Olive! Go get your costume! Hey, wait, her costume is a mess. Did you bring some fabric?" Beltarne: "You know us dwarves. Stuffy sorts. First we arrange payment, then" pats his pack "me and my stony friend give you the truly ludicrous amount of wine we brought you across monster infested terrain." ** Wolfgang nods, happy to let others try and pry as much cash as possible from the wee folk ** Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "Oh, you should totally do it the other way, I don't negotiate half as well when I'm swimming in a glass." Artegal: "We may have some fabric for you, as well - let's talk payment, shall we?" Wolfgang: "No armor, can't really afford to buy it myself" Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "Sure, sure. You have stuff, we have coin. Or poisons, we have lots of poisons. We even have some bigfolk stuff if you want it." GM: Cutting this short and down to brass tacks: how much pixie trade goods did you guys bring? GM: And how much wine? Wolfgang: Wolfgang has two $20 bottles Artegal: No pixie trade goods as far as I know. As much wine as Beltarne and Wolfgang brought. And they like fabric, and we happen to have some giant spider silk. I assume they won't want the goathides. Ystava: And there's paint. Beltarne: I brought 40 pints of $20 a pint wine. Ystava: It has REAL emeralds in it :D GM: Right. Ystava: So it's glittery which is TOTALLY pixie fasion. GM: Uhm. Merchant roll to get them to accept the goat furs - failure is no, success by 0 they'll take them at $1.5/lb, each point of success more increases the multiplier (to $3, $6, $9 for 1, 2, 3) Ystava: Ystava also has Kumiz, but he's down another two pints (total 6 - one a day, one for the sacrifice, one as consolation for falling in a hole) and isn't inclined to sell it at the moment. Artegal: Merchant: 3d6.skill(11,0) => 2,3,1 = 6 vs (11) or less Success! by 5 Artegal: Oof. I'm doing well today. GM: They'll take the paint, the giant spider silk, and the wine. Roll Merchant or reactions to get better than an 80% of value. Artegal: Reaction. GM: I mean, the wine is x8 base. Artegal: Straight-up reaction roll for Arty, or as a group roll? GM: 3d6.reaction(10,-2) => 3d6.reaction(10,-2) GM: 3d6.reaction(10-2) => 3,1,6 + 8 = 18 Very Good! The NPC thinks highly of the PCs and is quite helpful and friendly. B560 GM: okay, you can sell the wine at x8 price and everything else at 100% value. They'll take the goat fur at $15/lb. Artegal: That's quite a bit more than I expected to get for the goat fur. I'd like to be sure I'm not cheating them. GM: Well, there is a problem. ** Beltarne hurriedly wipes at his eyes, clearing his throat gruffly as he makes truly ludicrous amounts of money. ** Artegal: (Without making the mistake of TELLING them that I think I might be overcharging them, because I'm not STUPID.) GM: They like Artegal, but they only have $5000 in coin. How much are you selling all this for (300*15+42*20*8 => 11220) Artegal: There was also some 'big folk goods'? GM: So even assuaging your conscience down to $9/lb for the fur - not unreasonable given your difficulty getting it there - you have about $3000 in credit for them. Ystava: And poisons, which are interesting trade goods. GM: Yep. GM: They'll sell you poisons at 75% of list before bargaining. And they have bigfolk goods. Random stuff. Specify what you want, I'll see if they have it. Torvall: "I do believe they said they had 'other big people' items." Torvall: ((as always...one line too late on my comments)) GM: For what it's worth, Wren is flirting outrageously with Artegal. Artegal: ...If the poisons can be provided in safe-to-transport containers suitable for big folk, then I heartily recommend we take as much payment as possible in poison. GM: Anyone lecherous? Artegal: Wait. Artegal: Selling poison is legal, right? Artegal: *raises a hand* GM: Sure, why not? Artegal: Pixies ought to score rather low on the 'attractive' list, though, this is not a Doug Winger presentation. GM: Get the appropriate Guild licenses or sell it to the Thieves, same difference. GM: True. GM: Just checking, though. Artegal: He's a terrible flirt himself, though! Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "That's going to be enough wine for a long while." GM: Basically, they have at least 1 of every reasonably common basic set weapon. GM: Are you guys buying poison or what? Ystava: There's some discussion going on ;) Beltarne: $5,000 in cash, anything left over in poison Beltarne: anyone want anything? Beltarne: 1d10 => 8 = (8) Beltarne: Sorry. Ystava: A Very Fine battleaxe that sings ride of the valkyries when you swing it. ** Wolfgang asks art if he thinks he can sell the poison at a profit in town ** Beltarne: We have $2,700 from selling the goatskins Artegal: "I can sell ANYTHING for a profit." Beltarne: would anyone like anything? Ystava: But I doubt they have one. Beltarne: I'd kind of like spider silk underoos, personally. Ystava: Also, a fabulous hat, but it would have to be in size gigantic. GM: Well, they're selling it to you at 75% of normal value, so you need to be able to sell it at 80% of better to make a profit. Artegal: Which is what I do without trying. Wolfgang: ok, so we buy poison! GM: They don't have a fabulous hat in size giant. Torvall: "Do they have any weapons of fine or better quality? May we inspect the weapons?" GM: Yes, they have stuff like that. GM: They have an SM0, Balanced Greatsword. GM: They'll sell it for $6500. GM: Or you can bargain with them. Wolfgang: Any fine, balanced, dwarven sdueling bills? :) GM: They have a Fine Dueling Bill for $1000. Artegal: I think $5000 in coin, and then the rest in poison. I'd like to haggle the poison price down, or accept their price but get them to throw in big-folk-sized vials and potion belts for transport. Artegal: I'm willing to call it 'generic, legal to sell poisons', since I don't think any of us is terribly interested in using poison. Ystava: Fine Dueling Bill in normal size. Hm. That's an aweful lot like a really cool axe to Ystava. GM: Well, they don't have bigfolk sized stuff like potion belts, but they have some wine bottles (or they will shortly). Ystava: It doesn't sing Ride of the Valkyries, sadly. Artegal: (I would REALLY like to avoid the inconvenience of trying to transport loose pixie-sized crystal vials. That would be a nightmare.) Ystava: That said, he's actually not much of an axer. Torvall: "The sword looks nice, but it is up to the party. That is a large amount of money." Ystava: He'd mostly cary it for the intimidation value. Artegal: ((It's about $2500 more than it's worth.)) Artegal: ((The greatsword, that is.)) ** Wolfgang is gonna start calling Ystava 'Horns' soon ** GM: They'll sell you 7 bottles of demon's brew (DF1 pg 28), 7 lbs, value $500 each. Beltarne: ((Is this a D&D-esque world where using poison against howling monstrosities from the depths of hell makes you a bad person/shunned?)) ** Ystava would be remarcably comfortable with that. ** GM: No. Wolfgang: "I'll pass on the Dueling Bill, thanks though." GM: They're charging you a Special Order surcharge on the weapons, the rat bastards! Beltarne: Do they have any spider silk rope? Artegal: If they do, it'll be pixie thread. Torvall: "Yes...a bit much on the sword as well. Thank anyway friend pixies." GM: No, they have no rope. Beltarne: Okay. Beltarne: No prayer wheels or portables shrines either, I assume. GM: No. Artegal: Just to double check: The price of Demon's Brew isn't modified by the 'Revised Potions and Poisons' rules on the wiki, correct? GM: Right, it's a grenade, not a utility. Artegal: Okay, so $5k in cash, $2625 in poison. GM: Oh, then 6 grenades, not 7. Artegal: No, the base price of the grenades is $500. Artegal: They're selling at 75% of that, right? GM: Right. GM: Whatever that works out to. Ystava: Assuming they also don't have whatever ritual goods Beltarne needs to keep stocked up? Artegal: So 7 grenades, $2625. GM: Okay. Beltarne: I don't need ritual goods. Just takes lots of time. Artegal: I'd *like* to sell them the silk, but it seems like they don't have the money for it. Do they have any enchanters? Artegal: Because 'stopping by here to pick up enchanted stuff later' might be worth it. Beltarne: Oh yeah! Enchanters?! GM: Hmmm... They have wizards, but no enchanters as such, no. Artegal: Artegal feels bad for them, but Artegal is moderately charitable. Artegal's a good guy and all, but he's not Charitable. Artegal: They can live with goat hide instead of Giant Spider Silk. Artegal: So for the wine and the goat hides... $2700 (hides) + 6720 worth of wine? Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "Wow, good deal. We should be set for a while, at least. Plenty of wine, that's for sure. I like having plenty of wine." She frowns for a moment and pauses, then speeds on. "Listen, you've done us a good thing and we really appreciate it." Ystava: (( Now go away. )) Artegal: ((Throw in the dueling halberd, which is $1000, and a normal Greatsword ($600) and call it a deal?)) Wren Seaspray Belladonna: She frowns again, speaking slowly and considering her words. "But the deal is, we have another problem. We probably can't pay you much for it, but I guess we could give you that sword and axe-thing you were looking at." GM: Sure, if that's what you want to do, they like that deal. Wolfgang: ((those are bad prices for those)) Artegal: ((Yeah, but we don't want to haul HIDES back to town.)) Artegal: ((Fscking heavy.)) Beltarne: ((we're currently at a -$1,795 trade defecit.)) Wolfgang: ((heh, ok, I guess that works)) Artegal: ((Yup. Add the halberd and the greatsword and we're at -$95, which I'm willing to give them because wtf they bought 300 lbs of hides.)) Wolfgang: ((might just take some of the non-special weapons at list though)) Artegal: "What sort of a problem? We are the sort who specialize in righting wrongs." Beltarne: ((Works for me, Artegal.)) Beltarne: "Aye, it's our 'Raison de etre,' one might say." Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "It'd be great if you could do us a favor. See, there's these antmen that live nearby. Bunch of rude fellows. They're always wandering into the woods and kidnapping my people! I could use some brave heroes to go in, rescue the pixies, and kill any antman who resists." Ystava: "I would not say the thing. It's weird." ** Ystava brightens up. "I kill the ant men though! Easy. Crush under the feet. Stomp stomp!" ** ** Artegal points at Ystava. "Are these antmen roughly as big as him," Points at himself. "Me," points at Beltarne, "Him, or," points at the pixie. "You?" ** Torvall: "I don't believe these are normal sized ants my big friend." Artegal: ((IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION.)) Wren Seaspray Belladonna: She thinks some more. "Recently there's been some new antmen, they fly. They're even more dangerous - we can often outfly the groundhoggers, but the flying ones are dangerous. Someone created them. You'd need to kill that person off, plus whatever is breeding them." ** Ystava shrugs. "I stomp ants big as the thumbs too." ** Ystava: *the ants ** Ystava holds out his thumbs. "The thumbs are big ants." ** Wren Seaspray Belladonna: She frowns. "Oh, they're bigfolk, like you. Tough shells, too, our arrows don't usually penetrate which is why they're so hard to fight. Not as big as the horny guy, though, I don't think." She brightens up, and flies up and down past Artegal, Ystava, and Wolfgang. "Nope, pretty sure they're the same size as you two, not him." Ystava: "They go with the pop." Beltarne: "You, uh, met a crazy human driud? Sickly green light whenever he's aroung, earth elemental buddy, kind of ranty?" Artegal: "If you can help Ystava here draw up a map to the nearest lair, we can see about cleaning them out." ** Ystava looks startled for a minute, then grins. "I am the biggest!" ** Artegal: ((Ystava's a cartographer, right?)) Ystava: (( surprisingly, yes. )) Wolfgang: "Any clue who is doing it? Sounds like something that creepy druid would do." Ystava: (( sort of. )) Ystava: (( he tends to label things idiosyncratcially )) Artegal: ((As long as he can draw a map he can later follow, I don't care. :D)) Ystava: (( idiosyncratically )) Torvall: ((Torvall has cartography too...only at 11 but better than nuthin')) Ystava: (( waitaminute )) Ystava: (( no, I can read a map, not draw one. Navigation )) Artegal: Torvall can draw us a map! Ystava: Eheh. Torvall: ((Hooray...well help read it at least)) Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "What? No, we didn't meet a druid. I think it's some kind of creepy antman thing. They mutate and stuff, I'm sure - comes from living down in the bad magic parts of the swamp. That's were they live - on those wooded hills in the swamp just west of us. You can get there in an hour or two if the wind is co-operating." ** Beltarne snorts amusedly. ** Ystava: (( mental note: bad magic parts )) Beltarne: ((Roughly how much faster than my walking speed do the pixes seem to be moving in a straight line?)) GM: 2x to 3x at least. Artegal: ((At least double.)) GM: For what it's worth, wooded hills in the swamp due west of Baile Mordred are clearly shown on your maps. Artegal: "So we'd be looking at about a day's march. Which reminds me, you mentioned a token that would get us past the wards? I would be grateful for such a thing." Torvall: "So about a day's walk if they have the wind with them." Ystava: (( lost my connection to Maptools )) Ystava: (( ty )) Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "Artegal, you're very cute - after all, you are a nymph - and you cut a dashing figure in that armor, but if we gave you that token and some antmen killed you, not only would I be heartbroken about your sad and senseless death, I would have been totally irresponsible to let all those evil antmen right into the heart of Baile Mordred! The wards are the only thing keeping them from rampaging over our villages! I know you may not think much of them, but building a toadstool house is hard!" Artegal: "In that case, could you have your scouts keep a watch for our return? We lost half a day finding our way past the wards, and time is an issue for my friends." Artegal: "We aren't fortunate enough to subsist on nectar and wine." Ystava: "I find the way. The head with the hurt and the home get all twisty but I have the finding." Wren Seaspray Belladonna: "Oh, I suppose I could do that. Are you going to do that, then? Wait, if you rescue the pixies, they can lead you back! They know the way!" Wolfgang: "How many are missing?" Artegal: "Have your scouts keep watch anyway - the pixies may not be in any shape to lead us." He looks around at the group. "Gentlemen, shall we be off? Antmen are a worthy foe for us!" Ystava: "Can we leave the iron here?" ** Artegal stares at Ystava. ** Ystava: (( or did we bring it? I forget. )) Artegal: ((That's that 'oh god, he just used the SHRIMP fork on the SALAD' stare.)) Wolfgang: ((I thought we didn't even bring it this far)) Wren Seaspray Belladonna: Wren frowns. "I don't even know how many they have. They may eaten some people by now! Not more than 20 I think, or maybe 30. You know, we lost some people a year ago - we thought to Elder Things - but maybe the antmen kidnapped them!" Ystava: (( If we didn't bring it, never mind. I thought we left the statues but not the iron, but I could be wrong! )) GM: You left the iron ore. Beltarne: ((We left the iron and the statues.)) GM: And the statues. Ystava: (( never mind! )) Artegal: ((I think we left the statues and the iron behind. Also, you just offered to dump 50 lbs of iron ore in the middle of a fae village. >.>)) GM: Ystava does not bring tact to the party. Ystava: (( IQ 8, no Fae lore, bad manners... )) Artegal: ((SHRIMP FORK.)) Ystava: (( HE USES HIS HANDS AND WIPES THEM ON HIS DINNER PARTNER )) Ystava: (( the shrimp fork is obviously for skewering rats. )) Wolfgang: ((Wolfgang will insist Horns not wipe stuff on his spotless armor)) Artegal: "We'll save whoever we can, Wren. As I said, have your scouts keep an eye out for us. Let's be off!" Wolfgang: "Big bugs seem common here, like the huge wasps" Beltarne: ((Rat-Flail!!!) ** Beltarne Beltarne shoulders his much lighter pack and happily trudges after Artegal ** Wolfgang: "Hmm, maybe they just painted some wasps..." ** Wolfgang follows ** Wolfgang: "But how would ants hold the brushes?" Artegal: So we set off to be heroes! Ystava: So away we go! GM: As you trudge west through the forest, you come across a deer carcass, horribly savaged and picked over by some predators. Best Beltarne and Ystava can estimate, some kind of large feline. A few wisps of shed fur can be found by the corpse, and the hairs creepily change color from a shiny white or blue to green, brown, or grey as you move them in and out of the light or look at them against the backdrop of the sky or the trees. GM: Do you want to try to track the predator? ** Ystava will try? ** Ystava: If there is interest. Artegal: To be clear: The shed fur is from the predator? Ystava: Oh cat fur, not deer fur? Torvall: ((Probably best not to follow, but make sure we are not going toweards it may be a good idea.)) Wolfgang: "It's full now, so not a concern?" GM: Definitely not deer hair. Beltarne: Sure. Bet that fur is worth money. Artegal: "We should track it down. That sort of beast is a danger to the locals, and that sort of hair isn't natural - it shouldn't be left wild to harm the forest." Wolfgang: "Hmm, if you say so" Wolfgang: "Friend, hardly anything around here is still natural" Artegal: (I assume I don't need a skill to tell that 'color-shifting fur' is not a natural trait.) ** Torvall gives Wolfgang a sidelong glance for taking his idiom. ** whispering to Artegal, It looks like Fae Panther fur. They're a panther predator that lives in the fae, can change color and be nearly invisible. A hostile, dangerous, chesshire cat. Many fae treasure them, make them pets. Ystava: Tracking (12) 3d6.skill(12,0) => 6,5,1 = 12 vs (12) or less Success! by 0 Conditional: +4 from 'Discriminatory Smell' when scent is a factor whispering to Artegal, Also, the pelts are worth serious cash. Ystava: +4 if it works :D Ystava: And whatever penalties. GM: Sorry, had to sort out some issues with Artegal Artegal: "I'm pretty certain it's a fae panther, now that I think about it. Very difficult to track down. Fantastic pets, if you can manage to tame them. They disintegrate when they're killed - you can't skin them." Artegal: "Frankly, even if we can find it it's not going to be worth the effort. We should move on." Wolfgang: "Sounds unprofitable" Wolfgang: "We've antmen to find" Beltarne: "Agreed." whispering to Ystava, You've heard that fae panthers can cut through steel as though it weren't there with their claws, and that anyone who eats their flesh heals all wounds. GM: Ystava has a whisper. ** Beltarne caresses his bulging coinpurse, smiling dreamily about further profits. ** Artegal: Onward to the antmen! GM: You head west, Ystava looking back at the potential trail briefly but then continuing on. ** Ystava babbles about tavern stories about fae panthers tearing people limb from limb, and then the victims being healed by eating the panthers own flesh. ** GM: An hour's walk brings you into the swamp. Water lies over much of the ground, though usually not too deep. You all need to step carefully, as you soon find that sharp rocks are also hidden by the water, and stepping hard on them can hurt. Beltarne: ((Hot water BURN baby!!!)) GM: More slow slogging, step by step, brings you farther west. A set of low hills loom ahead, visible sometimes behind the tall ferns and stunted trees of the swamp. Artegal: Artegal is steely-souled and steely-soled, and fears little from sharp rocks GM: Sometime in mid-afternoon, you reach the base of the hills. Artegal: ((Yeah, I went there.)) ** Wolfgang enjoys flying since it has finally stopped freaking raining ** GM: Actually, the heavy winds are cutting into your flight speed something awful, but yeah.